entry
bunch
/bʌntʃ/A clustered group or gathered mass of things
From Uncertain; possibly Germanic or Old French/Flemish bunch (Heap).
from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”)
from Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare...
from Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare...
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Germanic *bunkō, *bunkô, *bungǭ (“heap, crowd”)
from Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare...
from Middle English bunche, bonche (“hump, swelling”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps a variant of *bunge (compare...
A bunch began life in a wonderfully tactile world: lumps, humps, heaps, and bundles that could be grabbed or piled together. Middle English bunche meant a “hump” or swelling, while another theory traces the word through dialectal Old French bonge and West Flemish bondje, a diminutive meaning “little bundle.” The evidence is genuinely tangled, so linguists keep both paths on the table rather than pretending the word came with a perfectly labeled birth certificate. Its family tree brushes against words for piles and clusters, but not every apparent cousin is truly related: lot, for example, comes from an entirely different Germanic word connected with casting lots. In 1882, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Ogston named staphylococcus for bacteria that gather like bunches of grapes—a vivid reminder that “bunch” is really a picture of things pressing together.
The Story
A bunch began life in a wonderfully tactile world: lumps, humps, heaps, and bundles that could be grabbed or piled together. Middle English bunche meant a “hump” or swelling, while another theory traces the word through dialectal Old French bonge and West Flemish bondje, a diminutive meaning “little bundle.” The evidence is genuinely tangled, so linguists keep both paths on the table rather than pretending the word came with a perfectly labeled birth certificate. Its family tree brushes against words for piles and clusters, but not every apparent cousin is truly related: lot, for example, comes from an entirely different Germanic word connected with casting lots. In 1882, Scottish bacteriologist Alexander Ogston named staphylococcus for bacteria that gather like bunches of grapes—a vivid reminder that “bunch” is really a picture of things pressing together.
Modern Usage
An affectionate term for a friend or group, and informally a considerable amount
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entries for an affectionate form of address and a large amount
Kin & Kindred
From 'bunch'·Heap, lump, bundle, or dense cluster
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary